Pushing On
by hardshocker2
Summary: Oh how things can fall apart so quickly despite the many ideas and plans for the future you had. It's up to you though to see how you push through these obstacles, whether it's healthy or not.


"We're supposed to be a team though! A family!" Ruby yelled over the sound of an airship preparing to take off. It was all she could say as Weiss dragged the last of her luggage onto the ship. She was ready for her long journey back to Atlas where her new position at Atlas Academy awaited. Weiss no longer held the title of Heiress of the SDC so she decided the only way to express her influence in the coming generations was to guide them directly. Needless to say, Ruby was not happy about her decision.

"It's too late to argue, Ruby!" Weiss yelled back. Her voice being masked by the engines. "I'll talk to you when I get there! It'll be okay!" The new professor started to wave at her partner as the hatch to the ship closed and the engines whined in their attempt to lift the enormous vehicle. Ruby didn't wave though as she felt the dread of another member of her team, a major part of her life, began to leave.

The only thing Ruby had left was the hope that Weiss would fulfill her promise to call when she arrived. That was going to be her lifeline for the next day or two while she sat alone in her home. A home that was chosen to house her whole team. So much for that, Ruby thought to herself as she drove home. Each mile closer causing her more dread.

The thing she had always wanted most was a large family and she thought she was on her way to that goal starting with her team. That arrangement lasted a year after graduating from Beacon before things went downhill. It started with Blake deciding she wasn't doing enough to help the world when a report about an extremist group that popped up in Mistral managed to catch her eye.

They seemed to be led by a former higher up in the now officially defunct White Fang. Violent attack after attack happened and it kept going until Blake couldn't sit back anymore. She decided she was going to Mistral to help stop it despite the protests from Ruby and Yang. When she left, so did Yang, determined to not be separated from her if she could help it. That was six months ago. Ruby had heard from them twice in the first month but they had seemingly disappeared off the map after that. It left her worried sick that something happened to them but she couldn't do anything about it. They could have been anywhere and Mistral was large. Plus, Ruby had her own responsibilities here. Vale leaned heavily on her skills for protection of the Kingdom. Only problem with that though, was that her team was a huge part of their success. Being down two members didn't leave many options for Ruby and Weiss when it came to assignments. Without Weiss, those options only got smaller.

Not that Ruby was all that concerned about going on assignments at this point. The empty house that she pulled up to was more of a priority to her than anything. She knew no one was home so the only greeting she gave as she opened the front door was a sigh. The living-room was dark, the kitchen was dark, the stairway that led to the upstairs bedrooms was dark, everything was dark. No point in keeping the lights on if Ruby was going to be the only one coming home now.

Ruby slumped into 'her' chair in the living-room, not even bothering to take her shoes off at the door like Weiss usually told her to do. She pulled out her scroll and dialed the only person she knew would always answer her calls. It took only two rings before it was picked up.

"What's going on, Sweetheart?" The voice of Tai, her father, managed to help her mood a little bit.

"She's gone now." Ruby said in defeat.

"Who? Weiss?" He asked.

The mention of Weiss' name hurt to hear. "Yea. She took that position in Atlas. I just got back from seeing her off," She said, trying to hide the sad lilt to her voice.

Tai took a moment to speak again. "I'm sure she's going to do some good there. I remember her rant about not being able to change much the last time you guys all came to visit."

Ruby wanted to smile at the memory if it didn't cause her sink into her chair even more. "I'm sorry I haven't come by, Dad," Ruby said.

"It's okay," Tai replied. "I know things are tough right now. Still nothing from Yang?"

Ruby wanted to shrink. "Nothing at all," She told him.

"I see," was all Tai could say about that.

There was a long silence as Ruby rushed through many thoughts and emotions in her head before settling on one. "I don't think I'm okay right now…"

More silence until Tai broke it. "It's okay not to be okay, Ruby. You're strong even when by yourself. Weiss only just left so it's going to be a little tough but it'll get better," he said with an attempt at adding some comfort to his voice. Ruby let the words sink in before he started to talk again. "How about you come over for dinner tonight?" He asked. "I'll make your favorite."

Ruby finally managed a smile at that. "Yeah, okay. At least I won't be fighting anyone for seconds now.." It was meant as a joke but it was met with just a massive amount silence. "...I'll see you in a bit, Dad."

* * *

A loud hiss filled the airship as it opened its doors for the departing passengers. As Weiss stepped onto solid ground she took in the nearly pristine docks that connected to Atlas Academy. There wasn't as much foliage like Beacon had. It had almost seemed completely impersonal the more she looked around. Nowhere for leisure and each path that lead away from the pads were labeled with wherever you would end up if you followed them. Unlike herself, everyone else that had arrived with her were already headed out on their business.

"Miss Schnee?" A voice called her out of her own thoughts. The woman who called out to her was stood a few feet away from Weiss, giving her a tentative smile before walking up slowly. This woman stood out against the sterile environment. She wore the standard Academy uniform but it was in contrast to her curly, and fairly poofy, brown hair that was tied up in the back with what looked like a hardworking hair-tie.

She reached out a hand when she reached Weiss. "I'm here to help you figure this place out today. Though I'm sure you're already familiar with a lot of our processes," She said with confidence.

Weiss gave her the standard smile she had for strangers. "Of course. Though it's never a bad idea to have someone help. I'm sure one or two things have changed since I was last in Atlas."

The woman started walking toward a path labeled, 'Main Grounds.' "Of course, Miss Sch… Well it's actually Professor Schnee at this point isn't it?"

Weiss just shrugged despite the fact that the woman was walking in front of her. "I suppose so. It'll take some getting used to but it won't be the oddest title I've had," Weiss said as she thought back to her many ice related nicknames that Yang had for her. "What about you? What's your title here?" Weiss asked.

"Oh right!" The woman exclaimed. She turned to face Weiss while walking backwards. "I'm Natalia Palestone to family and friends. To most others, especially here, I'm just simply Professor Palestone. I cover survival. Mostly wilderness survival but also some front-line stuff."

Weiss thought for a moment. "Isn't that kind of thing covered in basic training before entering the academy?" She asked.

"Only in the most 'basic' sense," Natalia replied, chuckling to herself at her pun. "You'd be surprised at how little it helps. It takes a lot to live in the wild if even for a few days, trust me. I… had… teammates that learned that lesson the hard way…" Her face had hardened a bit but it went back to being soft and smiley. "It's okay though. One of them managed to survive, albeit in a wheelchair. That's life though, right?" She asked Weiss before just turning back around.

"Right…" Was all Weiss could say in response.

The rest of the walk was filled with silence which Weiss was thankful for as she had no way to follow up Natalia's earlier topic. Instead she just took in the relatively bland sights until she was met with a large building that had no name on it. "This is the staff building pretty much. Just mention to the main desk your name and I'm sure they'll have you heading to wherever they decide to pull you today. Have fun! I've got some work to finish up." Natalia then started walking off leaving Weiss to stare at the front doors of her new calling in life.

It was a blur to her as the front desk attendant sent her on her way of getting through all the normal greetings and finding her new office that was still barren of anything personal. Unfortunately, anything she would use to decorate it was at her new apartment in the city. She didn't even start teaching until the next week so that way she had time to finish up the small details of the course she had prepared over the last two months. She was honestly surprised that she even managed to finish it with Ruby being upset and cold to her the whole time.

Weiss then remembered that she promised to call Ruby when she arrived. It wasn't a call she wanted to make but a promise was a promise. She bit the bullet and pulled out her scroll to call. The office chair that was provided to her got it's first use as she dropped into it and spun to stare out her window. The scroll dialed and started to ring. Part of her didn't want Ruby to answer. It wasn't out of malice but instead it was just out of sadness. Ever since Yang and Blake left, and then promptly disappeared, Ruby started to change. She wasn't as active as she used to be. Her energy only ever being used to push through any assignments that she and Weiss received. At home she just started pulling away from Weiss and ignoring any attempts by anyone trying to help. It's why Weiss took this position, and it's why she broke up with her.

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Hey, Ruby," Weiss said. "I promised I'd call when I got here. You know, safe and sound and such. How's it going over there?" Weiss asked in an attempt to show she wasn't doing this out of obligation.

Ruby didn't talk for a moment before Weiss heard her sigh. "It's okay so far. I'm at my Dad's place eating dinner," She said weakly. "It's been awhile since I visited him, you know?" There was a pause while that statement settled between them. "But what I'm up to isn't important. What's it like over at Atlas Academy?"

Weiss caught the self-depreciating statement but she let it slide. "It's honestly not that exciting. Everything is pretty bland compared to Vale. Sharp angles and not many colors. You probably wouldn't like it," Weiss said while trying to inject some humor into her voice.

There was a sad chuckle. "Probably not..." Ruby said.

"But you would like the view from my new office!" Weiss tried again. "I'm on the seventh-floor of the staff building so I can see a lot of the grounds and a bit of the city. I'm sure I could point out the SDC headquarters if I tried."

"I bet that would be cool to see," Ruby's voice didn't have the enthusiasm that Weiss hoped for though. "Maybe at some point once you're settled in I'll come to visit and check it out…"

Weiss had a pang of guilt in her chest from that statement. "Yeah, maybe Ruby. It'll be awhile on that though. I still need to meet the rest of the staff and the students I'll be teaching. Not to mention I haven't even officially been in my apartment yet…" Weiss started.

"It's okay. I get it, Weiss," Ruby interrupted. "I won't be causing any problems over there anytime soon…"

"Ruby…" Weiss started.

"Hey, Dad is saying dinner is ready so I'm going to go. I'll let you get back to your important stuff. I'll talk to you later," Ruby said quickly before hanging up without letting Weiss reply.

That was not how that conversation was supposed to go. Weiss nearly slammed her scroll down in frustration at the nerve of that woman. How dare she try to make me feel guilty ! she thought to herself. None of this was Weiss' fault. She was just trying to move forward with her life. I shouldn't have called, she thought over and over. Weiss missed the old Ruby too much to deal with who she turned into. Maybe it was selfish of Weiss to think it but she couldn't help it. She wanted to be back in Vale with Ruby but not if this was how she was going to be left feeling after every conversation.

A knock rang on the door, causing Weiss to spin herself back around to face it. "Come in!" She said hiding the shakiness in her voice. The door opened and a young boy carefully walked in.

He seemed a bit nervous. "Good evening, Professor Schnee," He said a little fast.

"Good evening," Weiss replied. "What can I do for you?"

"My name is Damien," He announced. "I was asked to show you around the grounds properly. The higher ups assumed Professor Palestone didn't do much besides show you your office…" The slight smirk the boy had said a little about Natalia's reputation.

Weiss had finally calmed down and was ready to have any distraction thrown at her. "That sounds like a wonderful plan, Damien. Lead the way."


End file.
